Manchester City bosses are ready to break the bank to land Lionel Messi at the Etihad, only if the Argentine magician refuses to put pen to paper on a new deal at Barcelona, according to reports.
Earlier, it was announced during the summer that Messi had agreed terms on a new deal with Barcelona that would keep him at the Catalan club until 2021.
But in reality the contract has not yet been made official and reports claim that Messi is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal with Barcelona.
Iniesta signed a ‘contract for life’ with Barcelona last week but Messi’s future at the La Liga club still remains doubtful.
However, Barca bosses have shown no signs of concern regarding Messi’s contract situation, despite his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.
And now, Spanish website Marca have claimed that Premier League giants Manchester City are ready to resume their pursuit of Messi and have already held talks with the representatives of the Argentine superstar.
The report also states that sources close to Man City have revealed that the Premier League club have now held “serious conversation with Messi’s inner circle”.
And if they get a hint that Messi is not willing to sign a new deal at Barcelona and instead is eyeing to reunite with former boss Pep Guardiola, the Man City hierarchy are prepared to splurge a stratospheric £359million for securing his signature.
That would smash the world-record £200m transfer fee that PSG paid to sign Neymar from Barcelona this summer.
But it is suggested that Messi is not eyeing to leave the La Liga club as his wife is in no mood to move their family to England.